A blog about the shadowy world of law enforcement informants with particular focus on the story of Michigan prison inmate "White Boy Rick" Richard Wershe, Jr. His amazing story compels us to look at many aspects of this underworld of the criminal underworld.

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Sunday, May 29, 2016

There
have been two legal developments in the case of political prisoner Richard J.
Wershe, Jr., who is serving a life prison term for helping the FBI prosecute
drug corruption in Detroit’s political and police circles. His conviction reads
possession of a controlled substance in excess of 650 grams. But his
never-ending imprisonment without parole is actually about retribution from
Detroit’s powerful black political establishment because he was a white
informant who helped bring down people close to the late Mayor Coleman Young, a
perennial survivor of numerous FBI investigations and a revered figure in some
circles. One development last week is mostly cosmetic, the other is substantive
but both are part of a l-o-n-g court struggle.

Rick Wershe, Jr. got a bit of good news last week when
WDIV-TV Channel 4 in Detroit reported it had contacted nationally known
attorney Alan Dershowitz to review the Wershe story. The station quotes
Dershowitz as saying this case is a terrible, terrible injustice. Well, yes, as
a matter of fact, it is.

Dershowitz has had some high profile clients over the
years. Among them are Patty Hearst, Mike Tyson, televangelist Jim Bakker and
socialite/murder suspect Claus von Bulow. Dershowitz also acted as an adviser
on the O.J. Simpson defense team.

Attorney Alan Dershowitz (NBC Today Show)

Dershowitz thinks the continued imprisonment of Rick
Wershe, 28 years after his first-offender conviction in a major but non-violent
drug arrest, is outrageous. Dershowitz has offered his services to the Wershe
legal team. It’s a nice gesture but frankly there isn’t much Dershowitz can do
legally that isn’t already being done for Wershe. It's not known if Dershowitz is admitted to practice law in Michigan. Lawyers can't just show up in courtrooms around the country. There is a procedure they must follow to practice law in each state.

But the Dershowitz expression of outrage about Wershe’s
imprisonment has celebrity value. Ours is a celebrity-adoring culture and the
courts are no exception. The judges and lawyers may act like having Dershowitz
walk in to a courtroom is no big deal but you can be sure the atmosphere will become
electrified if Dershowitz shows up in a Michigan courtroom in the Wershe
matter. The newspapers and TV stations will jostle each other in the search for
impressive words and phrases about the New York lawyer’s appearance in behalf
of a prison inmate. His photo is guaranteed to be on Page One.

This can help Wershe because it draws attention to his
plight.

The legal system has steadfastly refused to take a second look at the
facts—or lack of them—in the legend of White Boy Rick, as Wershe has long been
known. Informant America has painstakingly shown over the past year that the
legend of White Boy Rick as a drug lord and drug kingpin is false and based on
wild exaggerations by narcs eager to convince the public they had arrested a major
figure in Detroit’s drug underworld.

But in the words of Roy Grisson, one of Wershe’s regular
companions before his arrest, the notion of a white teenager ruling the underworld
roost and giving Godfather-like orders to hardened black dope dealers twice his
age doesn’t pass the common sense test. We’re talking about street-savvy,
prison-hardened black dope dealers who order contract murders on occasion. Only
a naïve fool or a gullible white suburbanite would believe that a white kid who
couldn’t grow a decent moustache was somehow the boss of bosses of Detroit’s
crack cocaine underworld. Yet that’s the line the Detroit Police and Wayne
County’s Prosecutors have peddled with straight faces for decades.

Any regular reader of Informant America knows there are
ample reasons to question the factual basis
for Wershe’s continued imprisonment. But
“the system” doesn’t want to take a second look at the facts of the Wershe
case. They only want to argue about applicable law. Maybe, just maybe, if
Dershowitz and Wershe’s other lawyers can find a way get the judiciary to look
at the facts, or lack of them, in the Wershe case, the pretense that he is a
menace to society may finally collapse.

Meanwhile, Wershe’s long-time defense attorney, Ralph
Musilli, filed another appeal late this past week with the federal 6th
Circuit Court of Appeals, in yet another battle with a federal judge in Grand
Rapids, who steadfastly refuses to consider Wershe’s argument that his
Constitutional Rights have been violated by the Michigan Parole Board’s refusal
to give meaningful consideration to parole for the state’s longest-serving drug
inmate who was convicted as a juvenile.

The Parole Board has released all the
other prisoners convicted in non-violent drug cases as juveniles, but not Rick
Wershe. The Parole Board has been “flopping” Wershe every five years by simply
stating the board has “no interest” in considering him for parole. This,
despite the fact that corrections officials in the prison where Wershe is
incarcerated say he could qualify as a “model” prisoner if there were such a
thing.

Ralph Musilli-Rick Wershe's defense attorney

Musilli’s latest appeal calls for oral arguments in the
Wershe case; something U.S. District Court judge Gordon Quist in Grand Rapids
has refused to even consider any of the fact issues in the Wershe case. The
case is in a Grand Rapids federal court because Wershe is housed in a state
prison on the western side of the state, within the jurisdiction of the federal
courts in Grand Rapids.

If Musilli can persuade the federal court of appeals in
Cincinnati that they should order oral arguments in the Wershe case that may
finally present an opportunity to challenge the factual basis for Wershe’s
continued incarceration. If Musilli gets what is known as discovery, watch out.
A lot of self-righteous law-and-order people will be shown for what they really
are. It won’t be pretty but the “system” may at last be forced to do the right
thing for Rick Wershe.

Sunday, May 22, 2016

It’s
an election year, in case you haven’t noticed. That means candidates up and
down the ballot must at least give the appearance of listening to the voters.
Many people are interested in the trials and tribulations of prison lifer
Richard J. Wershe, Jr., who got a raw deal by any rational measure. This blog,
which reports almost exclusively on the Wershe case, has had over 92,000 page
views. This translates in to some potential political clout. This week’s post
is about organizations interested in reforming our messed up “corrections”
system. Let’s hasten to add this isn’t a knock on the staff at the prisons. It’s
a knock on the policies and top-level administration. It won’t change unless
someone—you—are willing to step up and be heard.

Anyone who reads Informant America regularly, or even
occasionally, knows Rick Wershe’s life sentence for a non-violent drug
conviction when he was 18 years old is more about politics than it is about law
and order.

He was recruited at age 14 to help the FBI in the War on
Drugs. Without strong guidance Wershe made some bad decisions and wound up with
a life prison sentence. Over the years it has become obvious there are forces
who want to keep Wershe in prison no matter what the facts or anything he may have
done to become a better citizen. As Rick Wershe has said numerous times, “I
told on the wrong people.” They were people with political connections.

In a very real sense, it’s going to take some political
will to set him free. Therefore, anyone who wants to do more than just wish him
well should consider exercising a citizen’s right to show interest in politics.
In this case, corrections reform in Michigan.

The Wershe case, taken by itself, will not move the needle
in the statehouse in Lansing. But if enough people show the politicians his
case is a shining (perhaps that’s not the right word) example of what is wrong
with law and order and corrections “reform” in Michigan.

You don’t have to become a sign-waver at rallies, although
that’s fine. There is nothing wrong, nothing at all, in asking questions and
showing some interest in the making or reforming of laws. It’s called
exercising your right as a citizen. Here are some places to ask questions:

CAPPS—Citizens
Alliance on Prisons & Public Spending

This outfit is serious about the things that are wrong with
Michigan’s Corrections system and they are state-based, not national.

You are invited to explore their Web site (www.capps-mi.org/) and decide
for yourself. They even have sample letters of support if you’d like to help.

This is an interesting national organization of current and
former police officers who agree the War on Drugs hasn’t worked. They correctly
liken the War on Drugs to Prohibition in the 1920s, with about the same degree
of success. You may find it interesting to read some of their positions on
their Web site (www.leap.cc/) Note that their domain name ends in “cc” not .com.

Several former and current Michigan police officers are listed as participants
under “Find A Speaker.” If you have enough people for an audience it may be
worth everyone’s time to ask them to send a speaker.

This is a project of the Texas Public Policy Foundation
with chapters nationwide, including Michigan. It is, as the name suggests, a
conservative policy organization which views current imprisonment policy as
incredibly wasteful of tax dollars. They boast support from the likes of Newt
Gingrich and Grover Norquist. Their Web site (rightoncrime.com) offers insight in to their
view of prison reform issues.

It’s not clear how active their Michigan operation is in
2016 but you can contact their Communications Director to find out. His name is
Dan Isettat. His telephone number is: (512) 472-2700.

Rick’s lifelong friend, Dave Majkowski, who maintains the
Free Richard Wershe Jr. Facebook page
suggests you check out Can-Do: Justice through Clemency. The Web Site (www.candoclemency.com) for this
California-based organization is robust and shows some serious effort.

Of course, nothing says you can’t contact your Michigan
representative or state senator yourself. They won’t bite. They won’t put you
on a get-even list. Heck, they might even respond to a constituent. Stranger
things have happened.

Sunday, May 15, 2016

Anyone
who has followed the saga of prison lifer Richard J. Wershe, Jr. knows a Wayne
County judge wanted to revise his sentence to time served under a new set of
laws and rulings by the Michigan Supreme Court. But Wayne County Prosecutor Kym
Worthy has fought a reduction in Wershe’s sentence as if he were the Michigan
equivalent of Charles Manson. She has waged a vigorous and costly battle
through the Michigan Court of Appeals and now the Michigan Supreme Court where
a decision is awaited. Through it all, she has decline to talk with reporters
about the case. If I were able to interview Kym Worthy about her opposition to
Rick Wershe, here are a few questions I would ask. Since she won’t explain her
actions, this blog post will consist of some questions but no answers. It will
be a short post.

Q: Ms. Worthy you have spent considerable taxpayer money
fighting a sentence reduction for a man who has already served 28 years of a
life sentence for a non-violent drug conviction committed when he was a
teenager. Why are you fighting this fight?

Q: Ms. Worthy your office has admitted to me in response to
a Freedom of Information Act request that the “records do not exist” to support
past allegations by the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office that Wershe was the
leader of a major dope gang where associates were murdered and witnesses
disappeared. On what basis do you contend Wershe should remain in prison while
others similarly charged and convicted have been released?

Q: Ms. Worthy, there is nothing in the court records to
indicate Mr. Wershe was ever charged with racketeering, operating a continuing
criminal enterprise, narcotics conspiracy, narcotics co-conspiracy or any other
“kingpin” or “drug lord” crime. Why are you fighting so hard to keep this man
in prison?

Q: Ms. Worthy, can you cite another case, any case, where
you have waged the kind of appellate court fight you are waging in the Wershe
matter?

Q: If not, why is this case different?

Q: Ms. Worthy, how many times have you objected to the
parole of a major crime inmate who was prosecuted by your office?

Q: You have complained very publicly in the past that you
don’t have enough money in your budget, you called the reduction in the number
of assistant prosecutors “tragic”, and you complained loudly about the effect
on crime prosecutions. How much money has your office spent researching,
writing legal briefs and fighting to keep Richard J. Wershe, Jr. in prison?

Q: In a case where a black federal agent shot and killed a
black suspect, you exonerated the agent by saying, “facts matter.” Why won’t
you insist on a full and open review of the “facts” that “matter” in the Wershe
case?

Prosecutor Worthy announcing last year that "facts matter." Apparently she meant only in some cases but not in others. (WXYZ-TV image)

Q: Before he got in trouble, Rick Wershe, who is white, was
a valued FBI informant against black drug crime and police corruption in
Detroit. What role does race play in your strenuous fight to keep him locked
up?

Q: Wershe infuriated the so-called Black Caucus of Detroit,
the political powerful blacks of the city, when he helped the FBI prosecute the
late Willie Volsan, former Mayor Coleman Young’s brother-in-law. Detroit’s
black political power structure helped get you elected and has helped keep you
in office. How much influence does the Black Caucus have over you in this
battle against Wershe?

Q: Wershe also helped the FBI, several times, investigate
former Detroit Police Homicide Inspector and later City Council President Gil
Hill, now deceased. As you know, Hill was a target in an FBI undercover sting
operation to expose drug payoffs in Detroit. And Hill’s successor in the
Homicide Bureau has signed a sworn affidavit that Hill helped organize your
office’s opposition to Wershe’s parole in a 2003 hearing. Have you conducted an
internal investigation of what appears to be corrupt influence on your office?

Q: What was your personal relationship with Gil Hill and
what influence has it had on your relentless pursuit of keeping Rick Wershe in
prison for life?

***

Those are a few
questions for the Wayne County Prosecutor. She won’t answer them, of course.
She has to decline comment on matters before the court. In the interest of
justice, don’tcha know…

Sunday, May 8, 2016

Rolling
Stone
magazine was out this past week with a story about the failed War on Drugs. The
headline read, Why America Can’t Quit the Drug War. The article is noteworthy
because the life prison sentence for Richard J. Wershe, Jr. remains in effect
for many of the same reasons the nation can’t give up its failed drug “war.”

The subheading of the Rolling Stone article states, “After 45
years, more than $1 trillion wasted, and the creation of the world's largest
prison system, America still lacks the political will to change its failed drug
policy.”

That also partly explains why Rick Wershe is still behind
bars, 28 years after he was sentenced to life in prison at age 18 for a
non-violent drug offense.

Despite Barack Obama’s showy efforts to do something about
mass incarceration tied to drug convictions, despite his talk about the need to
treat drug addiction as a health problem and not a policing problem, his budget
suggests otherwise.

As the magazine piece notes: “…the Drug War is costing taxpayers more than ever. Obama's 2017 drug
budget seeks $31 billion, an increase of 25 percent from when he took office.
This year, the federal government is spending more than $1,100 per person to
combat the habit of America's 27 million illicit-drug users, and 22 million of
them use marijuana.”

In the next paragraph, there is another nugget: “The blinkered drug-warrior culture in the
ranks of the departments of Justice, State and Defense remains similarly
entrenched.”

The same can be said of Rick Wershe’s “entrenched”
reputation as a “drug lord” and “kingpin.” It’s not true, as this blog has
proven many times. But his reputation is so “entrenched” that no one—not judges, not
the media, not the Department of Corrections Parole Board, and certainly not
any prosecutors—has the moral courage or backbone to say, ‘Wait a minute!
There’s a chorus of people saying it isn’t true. In the interest of justice
maybe we should make an effort to do a little open-minded investigating.'

You see, the interest of justice always, always, always
takes a back seat to politics. NO ONE wants to appear “soft on crime.” Politicians
and judges campaign on being “tough on crime.” This is funny because the
system is forever releasing repeat offenders and psychopaths on parole, to
rape, maim, rob and kill again. Yet they won’t order an honest and unbiased
review of the case of Rick Wershe and others like him who are rotting year
after year in costly prison cells—for nothing other than systemic inertia and
fear of looking weak on crime.

But! But! But! It’s says here he was a major figure in
Detroit’s drug underworld! Well, what is ‘says there’ is, to put it bluntly,
bullshit. That has been demonstrated over and over each week during the past
year by Informant America. This
refusal to take a second look at the facts of the Wershe case represents either
a violation of his civil rights against cruel and unusual punishment or a
dereliction of duty—or both.

Here are the faces of the names of the primary “public
servants” who are making a mockery of justice in the Wershe case:

Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy-Justice seems to take a back seat to other considerations. (AP Photo)

Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy tops the list. With
every day that passes she shows “the interests of justice” don’t mean anything
to her. She’s already admitted, in writing, her office doesn’t have any
documentation to support the drug lord accusations against Wershe. Maybe it’s
because freeing Wershe would be an embarrassment for her office after years of
claiming he’s a menace to society when she knows that’s a lie. Maybe it’s
because she’s loyal to the Detroit Black Coalition that put her in office and
keeps her there. The black power clique despises Wershe because he helped the
FBI prosecute corrupt Detroit cops and Mayor Young’s brother-in-law. Maybe it’s
because he’s a white male and Worthy is a reverse-bias proponent of blacks-only “justice.”
Or maybe it’s all of the above.

Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette-Provably false accusations against Rick Wershe in a federal court lawsuit ought to raise serious questions about the job he is doing in behalf of the People of Michigan. He's either responsible or irresponsible.

Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette has fought a Wershe
lawsuit in Grand Rapids federal court (it has jurisdiction because he’s in a
prison on that side of the state) with provably false information. His case
against Wershe is so riddled with errors he can’t even get the defendant right
in citing Wershe’s crimes to the federal judge. He’s told the judge Wershe was
convicted of a crime that is blatantly false. Voters have to wonder; if he’s
this sloppy with a high profile case, what other atrocities against the notion
of justice have happened under him? Schuette has dreams of being Michigan’s
next governor and it’s a safe bet he intends to campaign on his tough-on-crime
track record. Never mind that this 20-30-year old scare tactic hasn’t rid the
state of crime. It still occurs even though 20% of Michigan’s tax dollars go to
maintaining the “corrections” system.

Judge Gordon Quist, U.S. District Court, Western District of Michigan-his abuse of judicial discretion in the Rick Wershe case could be a case study in law schools.

U.S. District Court judge Gordon Quist of Grand Rapids has abused his judicial discretion in the Wershe case and makes a mockery of the notion that federal court is the court of last resort for those seeking justice. Quist was irritated with Wershe's civil rights lawsuit from the get-go. He never took the time to hold a hearing. He never allowed Wershe's attorney to have "discovery" so he could amass factual evidence to prove his case. Quist threw the case out as "frivolous" and wanted to impose financial penalties on Ralph Musilli, Wershe's attorney, for even filing the lawsuit. Musilli appealed and the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals agreed Quist should take a closer look. After months of ignoring the higher court's rebuke, Quist had a lower-level federal magistrate engage in legal acrobatics to "find" that he should not give this case any serious attention. Abuse of power by federal judges is a seldom-explored flaw in the criminal justice system. Injustices are inflicted in federal courts every day and Gordon Quist stands as an example of that.

Michigan Governor Rick Snyder-he has the power to correct injustices and inequities in Michigan's Corrections system but he consistently fails to act, just as he failed to act in the Flint water crisis until it became a national scandal. (Photo-Carlos Osorio, AP)

Governor Rick Snyder has the power to pardon prisoners or
commute sentences but he consistently turns his back on prison/prisoner
matters. Clearly he doesn’t care about the issue or the people. Perhaps he’s
too busy trying to persuade the government of China to buy controlling equity stakes
in Michigan’s key economic sectors. Snyder has washed his hands of
responsibility in pardon and commutation cases. For his sake, the voters can
hope he didn’t wash his hands with water from Flint.

Sunday, May 1, 2016

The Michigan criminal justice system takes a back seat to no state when it comes to injustice and unequal punishment. Paroles from Michigan's prisons are capricious and arbitrary and no one is held accountable. The results are not only unfair, they are occasionally deadly.

One of the fundamental tools of investigative reporting is
known as compare and contrast. When you find that something isn’t right in the
way some unit of government is operating you compare it to other units of local
government or government operations in another state and you contrast it with
how the fishy local department or agency is doing business.

The Detroit newspapers carried a story this past week about
the search for a Michigan parolee suspected of suffocating his girlfriend in
Pontiac and then stuffing her body in a closet. The woman's mother found her body.

Kevin Jermaine Wiley, 34, is wanted for murder in the death
of 30-year old Marie Elizabeth Colburn. Investigators say Wiley had been
wearing a tether as a condition of his parole but he apparently cut the tether
off his ankle somewhere in Detroit.

Wiley was on parole for a 2004 homicide/manslaughter
conviction in Wayne County and a home invasion conviction in 2012. Now he’s on
the run, wanted for murder.

There is no indication that the Wayne County Prosecutor’s
office objected to Wiley’s release on parole. The fact is, since Rick Wershe
was sent to prison in 1988 thousands of inmates have been released on parole,
including murderers, rapists and child molesters. It would be interesting to
know how many parole cases there have been where the Wayne County prosecutor
has objected to the inmate’s release on parole.

Now let’s compare
and contrast this to the actions of
Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy in the case of Richard J. Wershe, Jr.—in
prison for 28 years as part of a life term for a non-violent drug conviction
from an arrest when he was 17-years old.

Kym Worthy has fought all the way to the Michigan Supreme
Court to keep Wershe in prison, apparently until he dies.

Wayne County Circuit Court judge Dana Hathaway, noting
changes in the laws, indicated late last summer she intended to re-sentence
Rick Wershe under the revised laws. Under
the sentencing guidelines his new sentence would amount to time served and
Wershe would be out from under the living death of a life sentence.

The Wayne
County Prosecutor threw a legal fit and said Wershe was sentenced to life in
prison under a law that was valid at the time,
and therefore he should remain in prison for life.

Ms. Worthy fought the Wershe re-sentencing to the Michigan
Court of Appeals. That fight was led by assistant prosecutor Timothy Baughman,
known as an appellate court wizard, who just barely escaped prosecution some
years ago for advising and counseling another assistant prosecutor on how to
get away with using perjured testimony—a felony—in another drug case. The other assistant prosecutor was prosecuted. Mr. Baughman skated. Mr.
Baughman is something of an appellate rock star in Michigan legal circles and U.S.
legal history shows stars of any kind are seldom prosecuted and almost never convicted.

The Michigan Court of Appeals, not wanting to appear soft
on crime in the case of a “drug lord” and “kingpin”, reversed Judge Hathaway regarding the Wershe case on
a technicality.

Wershe’s defense took the fight to the Michigan Supreme
Court where Kym Worthy has wasted more staff time, which is another way of
saying she has wasted taxpayer money, fighting the re-sentencing yet again. The
case is now before the Michigan Supreme Court awaiting a decision. That court
has sent the better part of a hundred cases back to the lower courts for the
trial judge’s sentence evaluation under a case known as People v. Lockridge.
The Wershe case fits precisely the guidelines the Michigan Supreme Court is
using in the “Lockridge” cases that are being sent back to the trial courts for
reconsideration. Eventually they will make a decision in the Wershe case. Under Lockridge, Wershe should be eligible to be re-sentenced by Judge Hathway. If the Supreme Court rules otherwise, something is fishy.

It’s not just Kym Worthy who is fighting Rick Wershe’s
parole. Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette, an ambitious politician with
dreams of becoming the state’s next governor, has fought against Wershe in a
federal lawsuit claiming his civil rights have been violated for the Michigan
Parole Board’s repeated refusal to fairly consider him for parole.

Bill Schuette-Michigan Attorney General

Schuette’s legal brief opposing Wershe’s federal lawsuit is
an embarrassment, or ought to be. It cites a federal case involving
suppressors, commonly known to the public as silencers. Schuette’s legal brief
in opposition to the federal civil rights suit says Rick Wershe was convicted
of possessing silencers.

Trouble is, Schuette has the wrong Wershe. That case
involved Richard Wershe SENIOR, the father of Richard Wershe JUNIOR. The late senior
Wershe was a licensed gun dealer but he ran afoul of the law for having a batch
of unregistered suppressors. Owning or possessing a suppressor is not illegal—as
long as you acquire the proper permit and pay the appropriate federal fee. Suppressors
are openly available for purchase online to firearms enthusiasts.

Schuette’s argument against Rick Wershe Jr. also relies on
a 2003 letter to the Michigan Parole Board purportedly written by then-Wayne
County Prosecutor Mike Duggan, who is now the mayor of Detroit. That letter makes
wild claims about Rick Wershe being a leader of a murderous gang, a drug lord
and basically a criminal of the worst order who deserves to remain in jail
until he dies.

Regular readers of this blog may recall a post last
September in which I revealed the results of a Freedom of Information Act
(FOIA) request to the Wayne County Prosecutor for copies of all records and
reports supporting the allegations in the Duggan letter. The formal reply from
Kym Worthy’s office stated, “the records do not exist.”

Kym Worthy, Wayne County Prosecutor (Al Goldis-AP Photo)

Deadline
Detroitan online news site, posted a piece this past week citing
a documentary about Rick Wershe that is in production, in which Johnnie or
Johnny Curry says in an on-camera interview that Rick Wershe was never a major
drug dealer. Curry, who truly was one of Detroit’s major dope slingers of the
1980s uses a 1-to-10 scale to compare himself to Rick Wershe. Curry says if he
were a 10 Wershe was a 2 and says “they” made Wershe way bigger than he was.

Deadline Detroit’s Allan Lengal writes, “Kym Worthy has created something in her
head -- likely fueled by false information from those in law enforcement who
resented Wershe helping the FBI bust cops -- that Wershe was a kingpin then and
remains a monster today, 28 years after he was taken off the streets as a
teenager.” The headline of the article suggests Worthy may wind up looking
foolish. That is putting it mildly.

At this point it is appropriate to explain the highlights
of the Rick Wershe, Jr. story.

Wershe was recruited at age 14 by the FBI to become a paid
informant against the Curry gang because they lived in the same neighborhood
and the Currys trusted Wershe as Ricky from the ‘hood. Wershe did a good job as
an informant and also told the FBI about drug corruption among powerful,
politically-connected Detroit cops.

When a federal drug task force got what it needed from
Wershe, they dropped him at about age 16 to fend for himself. By now he was a
school dropout from a dysfunctional family. He turned to the trade the narcs
taught him. He tried to become a dope wholesaler and got caught and sent to
prison for life. There are strong reasons to believe his informing on corrupt
cops and then-Mayor Coleman Young’s brother-in-law, the late Willie Volsan,
earned him powerful enemies for life.

There appears to be a vendetta to keep
Wershe in prison at all costs and that vendetta is being aided and abetted by
Prosecutor Worthy, Attorney General Schuette and others we don’t know about who
wield a lot of political clout. As Ralph Musilli, Wershe’s appeals attorney has
said on several occasions, Rick Wershe told on the wrong people; corrupt
members of the political system who have real power.

Wershe has never been convicted of any violent crime. He’s never been named in any other drug case
as a defendant or co-conspirator. His name has never come up in any other drug
case. Those are odd facts about a so-called drug lord.

His prison behavior record is exemplary. One of the
administrators at the Oaks Correctional Facility where he is serving his time
told me Wershe is close to what people would call a “model” prisoner.

Yet the Michigan Parole Board refuses to grant him a
parole. The Wayne County Prosecutor is obviously willing to spend countless
taxpayer dollars battling in the courts to keep him in prison. Ditto for
Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette's waste of state tax dollars. Schuette is still fighting in federal court
in Grand Rapids to keep Wershe locked up.

The outrage in all this is the fact prosecutors and
attorneys general can get away with ruining someone’s life with impunity. They
face no consequences when they engage in outrageous, vindictive prosecution
based on perjured testimony and falsified police records. They face no
consequences.

Oh, sure, some inmate may get lucky and get a judge to
allow him or her to sue for violation of their Constitutional right against cruel and
unusual punishment. Even so, if that defendant wins a monetary judgment, it is the taxpayer
who will foot the bill for blatant violation of the law by the people charged
with upholding it. Prosecutors enjoy limitless immunity when they break the
law, in Michigan and in every state.

That won’t change unless the people demand it. If, by some chance, the
voters demanded that prosecutors and cops have some personal liability for
false and malicious prosecution and outrageous abuse of the criminal justice
system you can be sure they would scream bloody murder as a group. They would holler that holding
them personally accountable for damages would put a chill, A CHILL! on law and order.
Funny, but it seems the chill is already there. Just ask Rick Wershe.

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About Me

My name is Vince Wade. I am an independent/freelance investigative reporter, writer, narrator, multimedia producer and director.
I live near the beach in a city outside Los Angeles.
I started in radio news but I spent most of my career at network-affiliated TV stations in Detroit, Michigan where I covered crime, the courts, public corruption and various scandals. I’ve won over 20 awards including three Emmys, 1st Place for TV News documentary at the New York International Film Festival, plus wire service reporting awards and others.
I work on topics and projects that interest me and stories that need to be told.